Back to the Early Years
by Fireruby
Summary: It all started with a mystical old man and a bucket of tofu. Now, for some strange reason, Kenshin's turned back in time 26 years. Kaoru can't take over all his chores AND babysit him? How on earth will she change him back? K&K.
1. Chapter 1

It was just almost 6pm in Tokyo, Japan. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, casting a gentle red glow over the horizon. Kaoru Kamiya was walking through the market, looking for tofu to take back to the dojo. Normally, it was Kenshin who did this chore. However, last night she had ripped the sleeve of her training outfit while working with Yahiko, and Kenshin was now busy mending it for her. Since it was her mostly her fault, she had volunteered to go get the tofu for him.  
  
There was only one problem with her plan… It'd been nearly a year since she'd last had to go out to get the tofu herself… she'd completely forgotten where the shop was! As she made her way through the crowds, searching for it, she came to realize how much she'd come to rely on Kenshin in the past year. They all had. He didn't just get the tofu for them… he cooked for, cleaned up after, and did laundry for everyone in the dojo.  
  
Kaoru was still lost in her thoughts when she felt someone lightly tap her arm. She turned to see who it was. It was just a short an old man. He had silvery white hair, baggy beige skin, and bright green eyes.  
  
"Excuse me, Miss…" The man's voice could almost be described as a wheeze. "Is there something I can help you with?" He motioned back towards his small stall. It had many different fruits, and buckets of rice and tofu on display.  
  
"Yes!" Kaoru said, happy that she'd finally found some tofu. "I'd like a bucket of tofu, please. How much is it?"  
  
The old man smiled a nearly toothless smile. His bright eyes seemed to twinkle. "For you, it's free. Please enjoy." He hands her a bucket nearly filled to the brim with tofu.  
  
Kaoru took the bucket. She grinned and bowed deeply. "Arigatou! You are very kind… what's your name?"  
  
No answer.  
  
She rose from her bow to look at the old man. But… he was gone! She looked around frantically, but he was nowhere to be found. His stall had disappeared as well.  
  
"Well, that's really weird…" Kaoru muttered. She shook her head sharply, decided to forget it. She tightened her grip on the bucket and started walking back home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sano walked through the dojo and into Kenshin's room. He walked in to find Kenshin working over one of Kaoru's training outfits, sewing up a torn sleeve.  
  
"Hey, Kenshin, where'd Jou-Chan go?"  
  
"She went to the market to get us some tofu. Shessha would have gone himself, but Kaoru-dono insisted he finish this…"  
  
"Oh…" Sano walked back out of the room, and out to the dojo gates. He decided to wait for Kaoru there.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
An hour later, Kaoru was shoveling out helpings of the meal she'd made.  
  
When she'd come home earlier, Kenshin was still hard at work mending her torn sleeve. So, she'd decided to take over the cooking for him too.  
  
As a result, the 'food' Kaoru was serving Sano, Yahiko and Kenshin resembled nothing so much as burnt oatmeal.  
  
"Stupid busu…" Yahiko muttered under his breath. "Can't cook to save your life…"  
  
Kaoru glared at him. "What was that, Yahiko?"  
  
Yahiko shook his head and glanced back down at his plate.   
  
"I'm not hungry." He announced as he pushed his plate away from him. He stood up and walked away, muttering something about practice.  
  
Kenshin smiled warmly at Kaoru before turning to his meal and digging into it. (A/N- Yes, I know that's not exactly the perfect word choice, but I seriously thought about how to word that for half an hour. If you have any better wording to offer, please let me know)  
  
Kaoru smiled too. Kenshin was the only one who'd ever enjoyed her cooking. Or pretended to, anyway. Still, she always appreciated the kindness.  
  
Her smile vanished as she heard Sano finally speak up.  
  
"How on earth can you eat that trash, Kenshin? It looks and smells like dead rodents…"  
  
"WHAT?!" Kaoru jumped up and made to strangle him.   
  
Sano took his cue and ran out of the dojo. Kaoru ran out after him, still strangling the air with her hands.  
  
Kenshin chuckled softly as he continued eating his dinner. It seemed he'd be eating alone tonight.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was getting late now. Kenshin had already finished his meal, cleaned up after them all and finished fixing Kaoru's torn sleeve. Yahiko had done 50 strokes then gone to bed. And Kaoru had successfully chased Sano more then a mile away from the dojo.  
  
After 20 minutes or so of walking, she finally got back. She slid open the door and walked inside. The dojo was surprisingly quiet. Kaoru made her way through the rooms to find Yahiko sound asleep on his futon. She stopped outside Kenshin's room and knocked lightly on the door.  
  
"Is that you, Kaoru-dono? Please come in."  
  
Kaoru quietly slid the door open. She looked inside the room to find Kenshin kneeling by his window, staring out at the stars. The moon's light was reflected in his gentle violet eyes, and the star's rays bounced off his long red locks of hair.  
  
"Kenshin…" She whispered softly.  
  
He turned his soft gaze towards her, smiling.  
  
"Would you like to stay and watch the stars with me, Kaoru-dono?"  
  
She was about to nod and accept his offer, when she noticed that her eyelids were drooping and she was swaying on her feet. She sighed and shook her head.  
  
"Gomen, Kenshin. I'm too tired. I just came by to say good night."  
  
Kenshin looked slightly putout. Still, he gave her a sweet smile.  
  
"Alright. Good Night, Kaoru-dono."  
  
"'Night, Kenshin"  
  
Kaoru softly shut the door to his room and walked into her own. She climbed into her futon and relaxed herself. When she fell asleep a few minutes later, she was dreaming of Kenshin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Many hours later…  
  
Kaoru woke up as the bright rays of sunshine poured in through her window. She yawned and hungrily sniffed the air, wondering what Kenshin would be making for breakfast that morning.  
  
But she didn't smell a thing.   
  
'That's weird…' She thought to herself. 'Kenshin usually gets up early to make breakfast… maybe he's feeling sick… I'd better go check on him.' Kaoru quickly got herself up and dressed. She walked out of her room and over to his, now a little worried about him. She knocked lightly on his door.  
  
"Kenshin… are you up?"  
  
She heard a soft groan from inside the room. She sighed to herself. 'He's just being lazy…'  
  
Kaoru slid the door open and stepped inside. "Kenshin, get up! You slept in…" She looked over at his futon, but didn't see him on it. At first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a small form huddled under the blankets. "Ayame… Suzume… Is that one of you two? Why are you in Kenshin's room… I thought you were out of town with your grandfather…"  
  
She slowly made her way over to the futon and uncovered the sleeping child. Who she saw wasn't Ayame or Suzume. It was a little boy with long, flaming red hair. He rubbed his sleepy eyes with the backs of his hands before opening them. When he did, he turned his curious violet gaze on Kaoru.  
  
"Ayame? Suzume? Who's that? I'm Shinta." 


	2. Chapter 2

Kaoru's mind raced. 'Shinta? Who is this kid? He looks just like a little Kenshin… Oh, Kami! Is he Kenshin's son? … No, no… he would have told me…. But… what if he was afraid to tell me? No… even if he was afraid… Kenshin would have told me… he's always so open with me..… but, then… who is Shinta?'  
  
Then, something clicked in the back of her mind. "Shinta…" She muttered. "Wasn't that Kenshin's birth name? Yes… that's it! But…"  
  
Kaoru's eyes widened. "Kenshin!" She cried, kneeling beside the futon. "Oh, Kenshin, what's happened to you?!"  
  
The boy stared at her in confusion. "Kenshin? Who's Kenshin?"  
  
She stared right back at him. "Who's K--…. You're Kenshin!"  
  
The red head shook his head repeatedly. "Nuh-uh! I'm Shinta. No Kenshin."  
  
'Oh, that's right.' Kaoru thought.   
  
"Shinta…" She said. It felt strange calling Kenshin by the name. "How… how did this happen? How did you get so small?"  
  
The toddler blinked in indignation. "Small? I'm not small! I'm a big boy now! Momma said so!"   
  
Kaoru sat back, stunned. 'He's acting just like a normal child would… It's not just something that happened to his body… It looks as if he's turned back in age, body and mind… b-but HOW?!'  
  
She was still sitting there, deep in thought when Sano slammed Kenshin's door open and stepped inside.  
  
"Oi! Kenshin! Get up Lazy! You promised to get me some breakfast this morn-" He stopped himself as he ran into Kaoru. "Mornin', Jou-Chan. What're you doing in Kenshin's ro-" he stopped himself again, this time a sly smile formed on his face. "Oh, Jou-Chan… I never thought you'd be the kind to do something like that…"  
  
Slap. Sano got a very red mark across his cheek.  
  
"Of course I wouldn't! I just came in here to check on him…"  
  
"Sure, sure." Sano said, still smiling. He glanced over at the futon and gasped.  
  
"Whoa! Who's that?!" He took a closer look at the child. "Kuso! That kid looks just like Kenshin…" he stopped himself once again, a grin forming. "Wait! Is that his son, then? … Wow. I never would've thought Kenshin would do something like that before marriage…" He glanced sideways at Kaoru. "It wasn't with you, was it?"   
  
Another slap. This time so hard that Sano was slammed into the wall across the room.  
  
"Mou! Sano no BAKA! Of course not!!! Just how low do you think I am?"  
  
Sano shrugged. Despite the two bright red hand-shaped bruises on his checks, he was still smiling. "Well, if it wasn't you, Jou-Chan, I wonder who's he is…"  
  
Kaoru shot an angry glare at him. "Would you stop thinking like that? It's Kenshin."  
  
"Yeah, I know he's Kenshin's. He looks just like him. What I was wondering was who the woma-"  
  
"No! The boy isn't Kenshin's, he IS Kenshin."  
  
The child shook his head violently and spoke up. "Nuh-uh!! I'm no Kenshin! I'm Shinta!"  
  
"Shinta?" Sano thought about the name a minute. "But wasn't that Kenshin's name when he was little?"  
  
Kaoru nodded. "Exactly."  
  
"But then…" He eyed the miniature rurouni up and down again. "H-How in the world did he get like that?"  
  
Kaoru shrugged. They both stood there and stared at the boy. He stared right back at them.  
  
"Where's my momma?" Little Kenshin demanded.  
  
That seemed to shake Kaoru and Sano out of their shock.  
  
"I'm gonna go get the Fox Lady…" Sano muttered as he walked out of the room. "She'd know if something like this is possible…"  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Twenty minutes later….  
  
Megumi was now standing with them in Kenshin's room. She crossed her arms and shook her head violently.  
  
"It's not."  
  
"But-"  
  
"It's not possible, Sano."  
  
Kaoru frowned. "So… you don't think it's him?"  
  
Megumi shook her head again. "Of course not, you silly girl. I don't just think it's him. I know it's him. There's no man in Tokyo that looks quite like Ken-san. And, even if it was his son, there's no way in the world he'd get so many of his dad's genes that he'd look identical to him. I have no doubts that this child is Ken-san."  
  
Sano was confused. "But you said it wasn't possible."  
  
"It's not. My guess would be this is some sort of witchcraft. Magic does tend to perform the impossible, Rooster-head."  
  
Sano glared at her. He was about to retort with some nasty comment when Kaoru cut in.  
  
"So, what should we do, Megumi-san?"  
  
"You should both sit yourselves down and think back to everything that happened yesterday. Try to remember what might have caused this. Anything abnormal." She paused and looked over at the young Kenshin. He had his legs crossed "Indian-style", his elbows settled on his knees, and his head propped up on his hands. His eyes were starting to droop and he looked a little nauseous.   
  
"Oh, Kami help me… You two idiots haven't fed him breakfast, have you?" They both just stared at her.  
  
Sano was the first to speak. "Feed… him? We were kind of expecting him to feed us…"  
  
Megumi let out an exasperated sigh. "Unbelievable!" She hurried over to Kenshin and picked him up, gently cradling him in her arms. "It's all right now, Ken-san…" She said gently. "Auntie Megumi's here now…" She walked out of the room with him, muttering. "Can't believe them… trying to starve a baby… and they call themselves his friends…."  
  
She left, slamming the door behind her. Kaoru and Sano just stood there.   
  
Two seconds later she poked her head back inside the doorway.  
  
"Well, come ON you two! You can't just stand there all day. You still need to figure out how he got like this."  
  
Kaoru nodded. "Right… right…." She left the room, and went over to sit down in the kitchen.  
  
Sano snapped out of it too. He followed her out.  
  
Megumi rolled her eyes and shut the bedroom door. She made her way to the kitchen as well.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
15 minutes later, Sano and Kaoru were both sitting at the kitchen table, relaying the previous day's events to each other. Megumi was spoon-feeding little Shinta mashed rice.   
  
"Lets see… I woke up, then ate breakfast with Kenshin and Yahiko…"  
  
"And you guys pigged out and ate it all before I got there…"  
  
Kaoru laughed a little. "You got really mad about that…"  
  
"Yeah, but Kenshin promised he'd save some for me tomorrow…"  
  
"So… after breakfast I had a student for an hour or two, then I watched Yahiko train for a bit…"  
  
"Then I left to go see Tae…"  
  
"And Kenshin made us a really fabulous lunch…"  
  
"And when I got back he was watching you spar with Yahiko…"  
  
"Which was when my sleeve ripped… and he offered to mend it…"  
  
"…Which I tried to talk him out of… sewing is women work…"  
  
"And, then… it started to get dark, but he wasn't done fixing it yet… so I went out to get the tofu for him, and…" She gasped. "That old man! He must be what caused this!"  
  
Megumi paused and looked at her. "Old man?"  
  
Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, yeah! I got the tofu from a rather strange old man. He had kind of silvery colored hair and really bright green eyes. He seemed nice. He gave me the tofu free of charge! But then… the moment I looked away, he just disappeared. His stall was gone too."  
  
Sano glared at her.  
  
"You accepted free food from a man like that and GAVE IT TO US TO EAT?!"  
  
"You say that like you actually ATE it! You and Yahiko were bring so ungrateful…. Kenshin's the only one who actually ate anything-"  
  
"That's it, then." Megumi interrupted. "I thought it might be something like this. I've heard of that man before. Dr. Gensai mentioned him to me once. He said that the man is very in tune to the spirits… he performs spells for people and is really great with mixing herbs and such. He thinks it's his 'calling' to watch over the people of Tokyo, using his spells to make their lives better. Maybe… maybe that's what he was trying to do here…"  
  
Kaoru was confused again. "But… how would THIS make our lives better?"  
  
Megumi shrugged. "Maybe he wants you to appreciate how things were before. 


	3. Chapter 3

Megumi sighed. "Well, anyway, Rooster-head and I will go hunt down this old man for you, Kaoru-chan, but you need to stay here and take care of Ken-san. Okay?"  
  
Kaoru nodded.  
  
"Good." Megumi set down the spoon she was feeding Kenshin with and stood up. She grabbed Sano and dragged him out of the dojo with her.  
  
"Pick up the pace, Rooster. We haven't got all day."  
  
"Why do I have to go with you, Fox? You can find this guy by yourself."  
  
"Because I wan…"  
  
Their voices gradually died away as they walked further and further away from the dojo.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kaoru stood up, walked over to Kenshin, and sat down in the place Megumi was sitting a few moments ago. She looked down at the bowl of mashed rice and saw a good pile of it still sitting at the bottom.  
  
"I guess I should finish feeding you." She said to little Kenshin. She scooped up some of the rice onto the spoon and lifted it up to the boy's mouth.  
  
But Kenshin's lips were clamped shut. He shook his head stubbornly.  
  
"Huh?" Kaoru was a little confused. Why didn't he want to eat it? "Um, don't worry… it's good… See?" She raised the spoon to her own mouth and nibbled a little off the end.  
  
Kenshin smiled and opened his mouth for her. He nodded happily.  
  
Kaoru grinned and fed him the spoonful of mashed rice. She pulled the spoon out of his mouth and piled more of the rice onto it. She looked back up at Kenshin and groaned inwardly. Again, the boy had his mouth shut tight.  
  
She glanced at the spoon regretfully. She really didn't want to eat anymore of the mushy rice. It stuck to her teeth and the top of her mouth, and it didn't taste as good as normal rice.  
  
She raised the spoon and rice to her lips again, this time she only brushed her lips against the spoons tip, hoping to fool the child. It seemed like he'd bought it. He smiled again and opened his mouth for her.  
  
She fed him the rice and took the spoon out of his mouth, but before she could pull the spoon away, the redheaded two year-old kissed the tip of the spoon.  
  
He giggled and pointed at her.  
  
It was then that Kaoru realized what she had done.  
  
'I… kissed his spoon… and h-he kissed it back… does that… mean something?' She shook her head sharply. 'Baka! Of course it doesn't! He's just a kid now. He's only having fun. Get those dirty thoughts out of your head, Kamiya…'  
  
She continued mentally scolding herself as she finished feeding him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kaoru finally finished feeding Kenshin 20 minutes later. She stood herself up and stretched.  
  
"I didn't know taking care of a baby was so tiring…" She muttered to herself.  
  
She walked over to the sink and began washing the dishes she'd used. She was almost done when she heard Kenshin making soft little grunts behind her. She turned around to see him squirming on the cushion he was seated on. His face was a little red.  
  
"Ke--… um, Shinta… are you okay?"   
  
After a few more moments of grunting and squirming, Kenshin stopped and looked up at her. He had a very cute smile on his face.  
  
"Poopie" He said simply.  
  
"Uh… What?"  
  
"Poooooopie" He repeated.  
  
Kaoru suddenly caught a faint sniff of something fowl. A wave of realization hit her as she instinctively put a hand over her nose.  
  
"You… you pooped?"  
  
Kenshin nodded happily. He seemed glad to have gotten his point across. "Hai! Hurry. Change."  
  
Kaoru dropped the dish she was washing in shock. It made a loud clatter as it landed in the sink. "You want me to change your diaper…?"  
  
Kenshin nodded again, a little confused about why she was acting so strange. After all, mommy changed his diaper for him every day… "Hai!"  
  
Kaoru took in a deep breath and let out an equally deep sigh. She had promised to take care of Kenshin till they could change him back… if that meant undressing him and changing his diaper, then she would keep her promise. She was not going to let Kenshin down.  
  
"Okay" Kaoru said in an almost resigned voice. She turned off the running water, dried her hands off on her kimono and picked up a clean, wet washcloth. She walked back over to Kenshin and picked him up off the cushion. She groaned as the awful smell she'd sensed earlier magnified itself overwhelmingly. She held her breath as she lay him down on the hard wooden floor.  
  
Kaoru hesitated before unbuttoning the boy's cute little gi and sliding it off his shoulders. She folded it up and set it down on the floor next to her. So it wouldn't get dirty. Next was the hakama. She gently untied the sides off it and slid it off down his legs. She folded it up and set it on top of the gi. She sighed and looked back at him. Now all he was wearing was an almost-white cloth diaper with a disgusting brown stain on the bottom. She moved her hand over to unpin the sides of it, but hesitated again.  
  
Why couldn't she do this? It was a fairly simple task to change a child's diaper. She had done it before while helping Megumi at the clinic. So why was this so difficult?  
  
'Baka… it's because you love him, and don't want to disrespect him…' She thought sullenly.  
  
"Gomen, Kenshin." She muttered as she reached out to unclip the cloth.  
  
  
  
(A/N- Honestly, I think I'm doing a pretty freaking bad job at timing here… I think I may be rushing the plot… um, please review and let me know if you agree… or have anything else to say. I'd love any comments or suggestions. Also, all flamers will be used to toast marshmallows for my brother. PLEASE REVIEW!) 


	4. Chapter 4

Half an hour later, Kaoru found herself outside at the washing bin, idly washing the stained cloth diaper, and looking quite traumatized.  
  
'I can't believe I did that…'  
  
She scrubbed at the diaper, letting the soapy bubbles run over her hands.  
  
'What would Kenshin do if he ever found out…?'  
  
She washed the soap off the cloth, soaking it with water.  
  
'He'd understand… you know he would…'  
  
Kaoru took the diaper out of the bin and shook some of the excess water from it.  
  
'Although… that IS the most of Kenshin I've ever seen…'  
  
She turned a lovely shade of red at the sudden thought, feeling ashamed, even though she knew no one could hear what she was thinking.  
  
'Stop thinking like that, Kamiya.' She scolded herself as she hung the diaper out to dry on the clothes line.   
  
Kaoru walked back inside to find Kenshin had fallen asleep on the kitchen floor.  
  
She sighed as she looked at him sleeping. "You look so adorable when you're asleep, Kenshin." She smiled. "And you'll still look just as cute when you're 26 years older."  
  
Kaoru picked him up gently and carried him back to his room. She laid him down on his futon and carefully covered him up with the blanket. "Guess it's naptime for you, cutie." She whispered.  
  
She watched him for a few minutes before she realized that she was feeling a little tired herself. She hesitated before laying down next to her little rurouni. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, unconsciously slipping her arm around the young boy who'd grow up to be the man she loves.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Megumi and Sano were both hurrying through one of the busier streets in Tokyo. Megumi was throwing insults at the people pushing by her, and Sano was growling at them and returning most of the shoves. Neither had let go of the other's hand since leaving the dojo.  
  
Megumi suddenly turned a corner and started running down a vacant alley. Sano followed closely behind her, still clutching her hand.  
  
"I think we're almost there" Megumi said over her shoulder. Sano nodded.  
  
Megumi came to an abrupt stop. Sano skidded to a stop behind her, nearly running into the young doctor. She pointed to a small shack at the end of the alley.  
  
"This is the place… Dr. Gensai told me this is where that man lives…"  
  
Sano arched an eyebrow. "So? I still don't see why you needed me to come along, if you already knew where this place was."  
  
Megumi sighed, her cheeks a little pink. "I wanted you here for… protection."  
  
"Oh…" Sano smiled one of his cockier smiles and nodded. "I am good for that, aren't I?"  
  
"Just about the only thing…" Megumi muttered loud enough for him to hear.  
  
Sano stuck his tongue out at her in a very childish manner before stepping up to the cabin and pounding on the door.  
  
They both listened, and heard something crash inside the shack.  
  
"He must have been surprised…" Megumi murmured. "Must not get a lot of visitors…"  
  
After a few more minutes, the door opened and the same old man from the tofu, rice and fruit stand, was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Yes? What is it you want?"  
  
Megumi nodded to Sano. This was the man Dr. Gensai had described to her.  
  
The ex-gangster promptly grabbed the old guy by his collar and hoisted him several feet above the ground.  
  
"What did you do to my friend?!"  
  
"W-What?" The man stammered, scared stiff of the tall spiky-haired man.  
  
Megumi stepped into the discussion. "What did you do to Ken-san? You must remember him… he has long red hair, soft violet eyes, a crossed shaped scar and he wears the colors pink and white! HE ISN'T EXACTLY YOUR ADVERAGE, RUN OF THE MILL, GUY."  
  
"Oh, yes. I remember that man."  
  
Megumi resisted rolling her eyes. "Of course you would. How many people do you see looking like him?"  
  
The old man ignored her. "He was the under-appreciated ex-murderer, was he not?"  
  
"Kenshin isn't under-appreciated." Sano said with indignation.  
  
"Really? During the two weeks I spied on your dojo, none of you ever thanked him for the things he did. He cleaned your laundry, cooked your food, cleaned your dishes, and straitened up after you… like some sort of Cinderella."  
  
Sano was mad. "You can't judge a household by spying on them for a week or two! No one MAKES Kenshin do all those chores! He does them because he doesn't think he deserves to live at the dojo! AND… we do thank Kenshin for what he does. I know Jou-Chan does all the time. You probably didn't notice because you were hiding in some tree!"  
  
The old man looked taken aback. He looked at Megumi. "Is this true?"  
  
Megumi nodded vigorously.  
  
"Oh, my… I have made a terrible mistake."  
  
Sano let the old man back on his feet. "So, fix it."  
  
The old man shook his head sadly. "You will have to wait for the spell to wear off itself. It may take years…"  
  
Sano and Megumi's eyes bugged out.  
  
"The only other way is, of course, true love's first kiss. After all, no magic is stronger then love. But… for that to work, you'd have to have his true love."  
  
(A/N- Muwahahahaha! CLIFFHANGER. More soon. PLEASE review.) 


	5. Chapter 5

Sano turned to face Megumi.  
  
"You think Jou-Chan would do that?"  
  
Megumi thought for a second.  
  
"The tanuki girl really isn't very strait forward with relationships, so I doubt she'd ever kiss Ken-san without his consent… but… since he needs her to… I think she might."  
  
Both turned to run back to the dojo, when the old man stopped them.  
  
"What? You aren't even going to thank me for telling you the cure?"  
  
Sano gave him a scary look. Megumi shot the man an icy glare.  
  
"Are you kidding?" she asked angrily. "You're the one who got us into this mess!"  
  
The old man shrugged, unrepentant, and retreated back into his little home.  
  
"Ugh…" Megumi sighed, exasperated. "Let's go."  
  
Her and Sano both hurried back through the street, towards the dojo.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A little over an hour later, they arrived at the gates. They both burst through them and ran into the dojo.  
  
They made their way through the home, searching the training area, the yard, the kitchen, Kaoru's room… and eventually they found the two people they were looking for, snuggled up on the futon in Kenshin's room.  
  
Megumi slowly approached Kaoru, reluctant to wake the girl sleeping so peacefully.  
  
"Hey… tanuki… wake up…"  
  
Gradually, Kaoru woke up. She gasped when she saw Megumi and Sano.  
  
"How long have I been asleep?" she whispered quietly, not wanting to wake up little Shinta.  
  
Sano shrugged. "It's nearly time for dinner now, Jou-Chan."  
  
Again, she let out a soft gasp. She carefully unwrapped her arms from around Kenshin and crawled out of the futon. She walked out of the room with Sano and Megumi behind her. She slid the door shut behind them.  
  
"I can't believe I slept that long… did you two find that old man?"  
  
Sano nodded. "Yeah, we found him."  
  
Kaoru's eyes lit up, joyful at the thought of getting her sweet rurouni back.  
  
"And? What did he say?"  
  
Megumi dropped her head. "The spell he cast is irreversible… he cannot undo it, but it will wear off eventually… after a few years…"  
  
"Oh…" Kaoru's eyes dulled again. The smile forming on her lips disappeared.  
  
Megumi raised her head back up again to look at Kaoru. She was smiling, and Kaoru could almost swear she saw a wicked gleam in the doctor's eyes.  
  
"What?" Kaoru asked. She didn't know how the woman could smile at a time like this.  
  
"There is one way that you can restore Ken-san, without having to wait a few years…"  
  
Kaoru's eyes lit up again as quickly as they'd dulled. "What?! What is it?!"  
  
Megumi's smile widened. Sano watched them both, deciding to keep quiet for now.  
  
"To bring back Ken-san, you must give him true love's first kiss."  
  
Sano nearly burst out laughing at the bright red Kaoru's face turned after that comment.  
  
"I- I-… b-but… um… Megumi-san… h-how do you know I'm Kenshin's true love?"  
  
Megumi rolled her eyes. "It's a universal knowledge that you and Ken-san seemed to have missed out on…"  
  
Sano smirked and nodded. "She's right…"  
  
Kaoru stared at them both. "B-but… I… I couldn't do that…"  
  
Megumi crossed her arms. "And just why not? If I was Ken-san's true love, I would not be hesitating."  
  
Kaoru was stuttering badly. "I-I… I- um… Kenshin was supposed…" Her voice trailed off.  
  
Megumi uncrossed her arms. "What? Ken-san was supposed to what?"  
  
Kaoru blushed even harder. "K-KENSHIN was supposed to be the one to kiss ME…"  
  
Sano stared at her. "Why does it matter who makes the first move?"  
  
"I-I-It doesn't mean anything if I'm the one to kiss him… if h-he kisses me… then I know how he feels…"  
  
Megumi wanted to scream at the girl. "Kaoru no BAKA! He is a baby now, and he will stay that way for a long time if you don't do this! Now, what is more important to you, having him or waiting for him to make the first move?"  
  
Sano nodded, cutting in. "Besides, it's not like he'll remember it anyway."  
  
Kaoru nodded slowly. "Alright… fine…"  
  
Sano and Megumi both grinned, simultaneously.   
  
"Great." They both said together. Unrehearsed.   
  
Megumi smiled. "I'll go prepare the dinner for you, Kaoru-chan. Afterwards, you can kiss Kenshin." She said it as though it were an every day occurrence.  
  
Kaoru smiled weakly and nodded. She retreated back into Kenshin's bedroom, with every intention of hugging every last ounce of comfort from the child before waking him up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
2 hours later, they were all sitting in the kitchen, quietly eating the simple meal Megumi had prepared.  
  
Kaoru was eating slowly, little by little, still very nervous about what they were all asking her to do.  
  
Sano ate like he always did. Like a garbage disposal. Within minutes, he'd eaten through 6 platefuls of the meal, and was still going.  
  
Megumi was busy, trying to feed Kenshin more of the mashed up rice and eat quickly herself.  
  
Yahiko was still somewhere with Tae and Tsubame. Megumi and Kaoru assumed that he'd intended to stay the night. If it had been under any other circumstances, Kaoru would have been upset that he hadn't told her earlier, but considering…..   
  
She would be letting him off easy.  
  
After a few more minutes of eating, Megumi finally finished feeding herself and Kenshin, and Sano had eaten everything that he could, and was fairly content. Kaoru still hadn't finished, but no one was intending to wait for her. She'd barely touched her meal at all.  
  
Megumi smiled and picked up little Kenshin. She kissed him lightly on the forehead before handing him to Kaoru. Kaoru looked down at the child, then back up at Megumi. She was having a lot of second thoughts.  
  
Megumi smirked. "It's not that hard, Kaoru-chan. Just put your lips together with his, okay? Simple, ne?"  
  
Kaoru frowned and looked back down at Kenshin. She propped his head up under her arm and leaned her head closer to his. She glanced down at his tiny lips and noticed that some of the mushed rice was still on them. His breath made tiny bubbles in the almost liquid puddle.  
  
Kaoru pulled herself away from him and handed him back to Megumi. "I can't do this."  
  
Megumi frowned. "Come on, tanuki-chan! Kissing a baby isn't all that disgusting! You have to do this!"  
  
Kaoru glanced down. "I just can't… What if Kenshin ever found out?"  
  
"Ugh…" Megumi rolled her eyes. Then she looked at Sano.  
  
"He won't! We won't tell him! We swear…"  
  
Megumi nodded. "Right."  
  
Kaoru shook her head. "I… I just can't. Maybe tomorrow or something…"  
  
She stood up and walked out of the room.  
  
Megumi and Sano both looked at each other.  
  
"Well…" Sano stated. "I wasn't invited to stay the night here… but, I think it's pretty safe to say I can… for tonight…"  
  
Megumi smiled and nodded. "I suppose so. Keep an eye on Kaoru-chan while you're here."  
  
She gave him a small wave before turning around and walking out of the dojo.  
  
Sano waved after her and turned around as well. He walked into the guest bedroom and lay himself down on the futon.  
  
He yawned, stretched, and fell asleep in minutes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back in her room, Kaoru still couldn't get to sleep.  
  
She tossed and turned in her bed, not finding any comfort.  
  
She frowned as she finally gave up on falling asleep. She pulled herself off of her futon and wandered out of her room. She walked back and forth through the dojo for a few minutes, too tired to be sure where her feet were taking her. She eventually ended up standing outside Kenshin's room.   
  
Kaoru stared at the door for a minute before sliding it open and stepping inside. She found the Kenshin sitting on the end of his futon, and looking out the window.  
  
He was gazing at the stars… just like the night before, the light was illuminating his hair and brightening his eyes… Kaoru let out a soft gasp and walked over to him. She sat down beside him.  
  
"Shinta…" she said quietly. "Why do you watch the stars?"  
  
Little Kenshin turned to her and smiled brightly. "Mommy tells me that the stars are what c-connect the earth and the heavens… I think they're pretty… you're pretty too..."  
  
Kaoru smiled. "Thanks… you seem very grown up for your age, you know… I guess you always did when you were young… now that you're older, you always act so young... I guess we all forget that you arn't, sometimes…" Her voice trailed off as the thoughts rushed through her head.  
  
Kenshin just smiled at her, having not understood half of what she just said. He scooted back into her lap and leaned his head back into her. He snuggled himself into a comfortable spot in the crook of her arm.  
  
Kaoru watched him, her thoughts fading away to silence. 'Even when you're this young... you still have the key to my heart, Kenshin...'  
  
Slowly, she leaned her head forward towards his. She hesitated a moment before planting a soft kiss on the child's lips. "Good night, Shinta."  
  
"Night" the boy whispered. He soon fell asleep.  
  
Gradually, Kaoru fell asleep too, finding comfort in the warmth from the sleeping child laying with next to her.  
  
(A/N- to be continued tomorrow... ^^ Maybe Kenshin will be better tomorrow morning? Stay tuned.) 


	6. Chapter 6

Kaoru woke up to the sound of a loud knocking at the door.  
  
"Oi, Jou-Chan? You in here? You weren't in your room, so I know your in there somewhere…"  
  
The voice sounded familiar, but her sleepy mind wasn't really able to register who's it was.  
  
"Hmph… fine, ignore me… Megumi's coming over again today, so you might want to get up soon…"  
  
Kaoru then heard footsteps walking away… getting softer and softer till she couldn't hear them any longer.  
  
It was then that her mind started to register her surroundings. She was sitting on the edge of a futon… Kenshin's futon… she remembered that much. Her back was propped up against his wall in a sitting position, and… something warm and heavy was leaning against her.  
  
Curious, she slowly opened her blurry eyes.   
  
Everything in her line of vision was red.  
  
Kaoru gasped. 'Blood?'  
  
Slowly, her vision settled and focused.  
  
'No… that's not blood… it's… hair! Kenshin!'  
  
She smiled and lifted her head up, leaning over the shoulder of the man in front of her. Her eyes shone with relief as she studied his face, making sure it was him.  
  
It was.  
  
Kaoru silently raised her arms and wrapped them around the redheaded rurouni.  
  
"Oh, Kenshin…" she whispered, more to herself then anyone. "I'm so glad you're back… all of this… it was all my fault… and… I didn't know if we'd ever get you back to yourself… you were only young for a day, but… I missed you more then I can bear… oh, I love you so much…"  
  
Kaoru buried her face in his hair and let the tears of relief flow down her cheeks.  
  
She froze when she felt Kenshin move. She kept her breathing normal and shut her eyes again, so he might think she was still asleep.  
  
He moved again. This time she felt his head turning. He glanced around his room, then looked down at Kaoru's arms still wrapped around his waist.  
  
'What must he think of me?!' Kaoru almost let go right then, but decided it would be best to not blow her cover. After all, if he thought she was a hentai for having her arms around him, she wasn't going to help her case by letting him know she was faking sleep as well.  
  
Carefully, Kenshin turned around in her arms, putting himself face to face with her. He slowly leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss. He seemed to be restraining himself from making it more passionate.  
  
Kaoru was too shocked to do anything but freeze.  
  
He pulled away a little, turning his head to whisper into her ear. His voice was a warm tickle against her skin.  
  
"I thought I should return the favor. Thank you for everything, Kaoru. I'd be lost without you."  
  
He turned himself around, gently lifting Kaoru's arms from around his side and placing them in her lap. Kaoru could almost feel the reluctance in his touch.  
  
Kenshin stood up and walked over to the door. Kaoru heard him slid it open, and she listened to his footsteps as he walked away.  
  
When she was sure he was gone, she carefully re-opened her eyes.  
  
She subconsciously put her fingers to her lips, still in shock about what had just happened.  
  
'My first kiss… well, with someone older then 3…'  
  
Kaoru only noticed the grin she was forming when she felt her teeth brush against her hand.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kenshin walked into the kitchen to find Sano sitting there. The ex-gangster's look of lazy boredom turned into one of pure shock the split second he saw Kenshin.  
  
"W-whoa… Kenshin, you're… tall, again…"  
  
The rurouni turned his violet gaze on Sano and smiled warmly at him. "Well, Arigatou, Sano. I've never been called tall before. It's nice to hear, that it is."  
  
Sano's eyes were wide. "Well… I don't mean it like that… you're… old…"  
  
Kenshin's smile dropped a notch. "That is nice to hear too…"  
  
Sano couldn't help but smile. "I don't mean it like that Kenshin… I mean… why aren't you…" he started making gestures with his hands, eventually putting one against the floor and the other about two feet above the first. "…little?"  
  
"Oro?"  
  
A thought then came to Sano. "Did Jou-Chan really kiss you?"  
  
"ORO?"  
  
Sano smirked. "Well it's good to know she came through for you. Not that we all didn't know she would…"  
  
Kenshin didn't seem to hear the remark. He turned around and started his usual routine of preparing breakfast. He made a little extra for Megumi, vaguely remembering Sano saying she would be coming over. He smiled to himself as he started the cooking.  
  
'It was fun, that it was… returning to my earlier years… but I am very glad to be back…'  
  
(A/N- And thus, I finish one of my many works in progress. Yay! Now to finish Hidden Emotions… then I can work on my stupid humor fics and start a new drama… Lol. Great, huh? This is where you say, "But, Fireruby! The world doesn't need more trash!".  
  
^^ Well, anyway, I was sorta planning on writing another fic, with the same plot, but the whole thing being from Kenshin's point of view. Fun, ne? Please let me know what you think of the idea. REVIEW PLEASE!!!!  
  
God Bless.) 


	7. Epiloge

I now have a sequel to "Back to the Early Years". Well, it's more of a partner fic, really.  
  
This fic is called Young Again and can be located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1555012  
  
It's the "Back to the Early Years" storyline in Kenshin's POV (very fun to write). In addition to being in Kenshin's POV, it also has a catchier title.  
  
You KNOW you wanna read it now.  
  
So... GO! What're you waiting for?  
  
And, after you read it... REVEIW!!! ^_^ Please. 


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